Tonight we didn’t have any meat thawed, and Ken was being picky (you know how husbands can be… he didn’t want a pasta dish, he didn’t want an egg dish (like a frittata or a quiche), he didn’t want leftovers, he didn’t want to go out for dinner, etc. etc.) so we decided on a tofu dish and Ken wanted to try something new, so we made General Tso’s Tofu, for which we found a recipe on www.food.com. The recipe was fairly easy, though somewhat labor-intensive (I consider a recipe to be “labor intensive” when you are constantly doing something for the recipe from beginning to end, i.e. you can’t just put all the ingredients in a pot and let it cook itself until it’s done.) It wasn’t hard, it just involved constant movement. That being said, it was very delicious, and the tofu was perfectly crispy. Anyways… here you go! (I apologize in advance for a lack of photos of the process… we forgot to take photos until the food was all done so there’s one of the finished tofu in the wok and there’s one of the tofu with rice and broccoli on Ken’s plate. Next time we’ll be better about photos!)

General Tso’s Tofu

1 (16 oz.) box of firm tofu

1 egg

3/4 cup of cornstarch

vegetable oil

3 chopped green onions

1 tablespoon of minced ginger

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

2/3 cup of vegetable stock

2 tablespoons of soy sauce

4 tablespoons of sugar

red pepper flakes (to taste)

1 tablespoon sherry wine (optional–we didn’t use this)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

steamed broccoli

rice (whatever kind you like)

Drain, dry and cut tofu into 1-inch chunks–recipe mentions that you can freeze the tofu the night before to get a more “chicken-like” texture, if desired.

Mix egg with 3 tablespoons of water.

Dip tofu in mixture.

Sprinkle cornstarch over tofu to completely cover.

Heat oil in pan and fry tofu pieces until golden brown and set aside.

Drain oil.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in pan on medium heat and add onions, ginger and garlic, cook for about 2 minutes (be careful not to burn the garlic).

Add vegetable stock, soy sauce, sugar, red pepper flakes and vinegar.

Mix 2 tablespoons of water and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch and pour into mixture, stirring well.

One Response to General Tso’s Tofu

This looks wonderful. I make lots of tofu dishes and recently discovered this technique – coating tofu with cornstarch and then frying it. Makes such a lovely crispy crust. Thanks for sharing!
— Rivki @ Kosher Cooking for Ordinary People